While many o my roses are easy care, no spray varieties, I do have a few roses that are more diva like and require more of me. I love them and think they are worth it. They live in my Exhibition Bed (my only raised bed) along side a few that don’t require much at all so it all balances out.

I have an Exhibition Bed because I hope to one day have one of my roses crowned Queen of Show … someday! You gotta dream. If you wonder what beauties you might see at a rose show, check out the Indianapolis Rose Society’s posts on rose shows here. If you love roses and aren’t a member of a local rose society, I would highly recommend finding one in your area. I have learned so much from my society and the added bonus is you get to be with others who love what you love. Find more on rose societies at ROSE.ORG.

Back to the Exhibition Bed…

This winter the Exhibition Bed took a big hit. Our winter was cold but so was the Polar Vortex winter 2 years ago and they did quite well after than horrible winter. I think this year was harder because we turned super cold BEFORE we had the thick blanket of snow that we had during the Polar Vortex. And, since these roses are in a raised bed… the cold was just harder on them. My plan is to provide extra care for these roses next winter with higher mulch and maybe even a covering. Mr. G, the designer and builder of all things for my garden, will think of something! 🙂 More about Mr. G’s building stuff here.

To date I have lost 2 Gemini roses in this bed but the others are coming back… just a little slower.

Current Exhibition Bed Inhabitants…

• 2 Dick Clarks
• 1 Cherry Parfait
• 2 Gemini
• 1 Neil Diamond (Doing well!)
• 1 Falling in Love
• 2 Golden Gate (one is struggling)
• 1 Beverly
• 1 Joy (Doing very well!)
• 1 Corretta Scott King

As you can see from the pitiful picture below, they are indeed getting off to a sad, slow start. But, this is our benchmark … May 3, 2015 … let’s see where this goes.

Speaking of raised beds… Mr. G built himself 2 small raised beds for tomatoes. Look at the “decor” he added …

He knows me!

2014 EXHIBITION BED…

On a happier note, here are some pictures from the Exhibition Bed last summer… (If you click on one of the pictures below, it will start the gallery feature for better viewing.)

Do you garden in raised beds?